At a time of heightened vigilance in the French capital, after the Charlie Hebdo killings, the sightings had caused nervousness among Parisians.

A Paris prosecutor had called for a police investigation of the drone appearances. Paris prosecutors’ spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said an unidentified flying object was first seen near the Gare de l’Est train station on Tuesday night, with sightings continuing over the Paris Opera, then on to the Tuileries gardens, past the Eiffel Tower and then south past the Montparnasse Tower.

Police had previously speculated about the motives of those piloting the drones, saying they could be scouts for a sinister criminal operation or part of a benign but ill-conceived prank.

An al-Jazeera spokesman said: “Three al-Jazeera English journalists have been held by police in Paris while filming a report on the city’s recent mystery drones. We will comment further when more information is available.”